Essential advice for sun exposure with complete peace of mind

27/06/2024
Les conseils indispensables pour une exposition solaire en toute sérénité
Health

1. How to properly care for and protect your skin in the sun?

Exposing yourself to the sun is generally a pleasant time. But for it to remain so, certain important precautions must be taken. Here are the official health recommendations ⁷ :

1. During the exhibition:

  • Never expose babies and young children directly to the sun. Overall, children and adolescents must be particularly well protected. It is now established that childhood sunburns promote the development of cancers in adulthood . A study has shown that 5 severe sunburns before the age of 20 are enough to increase the risk of cancer.⁸

  • Avoid the sun during the hottest hours, between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

  • Protect yourself by wearing a T-shirt, glasses and hat: Cotton clothing provides protection by partially filtering UV rays. For optimal protection, opt for anti-UV clothing specially designed to protect the skin from UV rays. UV damage to the eyes is common, wearing sunglasses with approved CE3 or CE4 protection provides good protection.
    Finally, a hat or cap helps protect the fragile top of the head, but also the face and eyes. With wide brims, a hat also protects your neck.

  • Apply a protective sunscreen regularly and generously : To do this, opt for a sunscreen with a high protection index, minimum SPF30 , effective against UVB and UVA. The lighter your skin, the more important it is to favor a maximum SPF50+ index.

To maintain effective protection, reapply your sunscreen frequently , at least every 2 hours and after each swim or after sweating.

Finally, be sure to apply the recommended dose of cream. Do not hesitate to apply a generous dose. The recommended amount to apply to the entire body is the size of a golf ball.

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2. After exposure:

After being exposed to the sun, a few simple actions can help your skin recover:

  • Eliminate salt, sand, chlorine and sunscreen residue:

    These elements tend to dehydrate the skin. Opt for a cleanser that eliminates sunscreen residue, salt , sand and chlorine while respecting the skin's hydrolipidic film.

  • Consider drinking:

    The sun dehydrates our skin.

    Drinking after exposure helps the skin recharge with water .

  • Hydrate generously:

    With a milk , a cream , a balm or even an after-sun treatment specially designed to help repair skin damage linked to sun exposure.

    To choose wisely, favor compound formulas:

    • Lipid-replenishing ingredients such as shea butter, beeswax or coconut oil,
    • Highly hydrating ingredients like aloe vera and glycerin,
    • Soothing and antioxidant ingredients like echinacea extract.

2. How to choose the right sun protection?

To effectively protect against the sun, a sunscreen product must provide protection against UVA and UVB rays . Several parameters must be taken into consideration.
It is important to note that sun protection treatment does not protect the skin 100%.

1. The choice of the protection index, the SPF:


The mention of SPF (Sun Protection Factor) indicates the degree of protection against UVB .

There are 8 levels of protection grouped into 3 categories:

  • Low protection : with SPFs of 6, 10 and 15.
  • Medium protection : with SPFs of 20 and 25.
  • High protection : with SPFs of 30 and 50.
  • Very high protection : with an SPF of 50+.

The notion of SPF reflects the proportion of UV rays that reach the skin after application of sunscreen.

For information :

Protection against UV, PA:

To find out if your sunscreen has UVA protection, look for the circled UVA label on the product.
It is the PA rating that ensures protection against UVA.

There are 4 levels of protection mentioned on the products, from lowest to highest: PA+, PA++, PA+++, and PA++++.

3. The different types of protective filters:


There are 2 categories of solar filters depending on their nature:

  • Organic or chemical filters:


    These filters have the particularity of penetrating the superficial layers of the skin and absorbing part of the UV rays that reach the skin, transforming solar energy into heat that is harmless to the skin.

    Organic filters provide excellent protection and allow for more pleasant and lighter formulas to apply. And above all, with this type of filter, there is no white skin effect to worry about! Your sun protection will not be seen!

  • Mineral filters:

    Mineral filters protect the skin differently from the sun's rays.

    Upon application, they are deposited on the surface of the skin (they do not penetrate the first layers like organic filters), and reflect the rays received by the skin.
    If your sunscreen whitens your skin upon application, then it definitely contains mineral filters.

At TOPICREM, we prefer organic filters for their sensory quality, because we are convinced that a good sunscreen product is one that you will enjoy applying and re-applying generously!

TOPICREM formulas have all been designed with the aim of providing protective hydration and preserving the skin barrier of sensitive skin for the whole family.

To do this, our laboratory relies on its expertise derived from pharmaceutical excellence:

  • Selection of high tolerance ingredients with proven effectiveness,
  • Development of clinically tested formulas on sensitive skin,
  • Effectiveness proven by science and approved by consumers.

Through the comfort and emotional well-being they provide, our treatments help you feel confident with your skin and with yourself, to better reveal yourself to others, and thus to fully enjoy every moment of life. .

Bibliographic references:

⁷https://sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Risques_solaires_-_ce_qu_il_faut_savoir_pour_que_le_soleil_reste_un_plaisir_campagne_inpes_.pdf


⁸Shaowei Wu, Jiali Han, Francine Laden, Abrar A. Qureshi; Long-term Ultraviolet Flux, Other Potential Risk Factors, and Skin Cancer Risk: A Cohort Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1 June 2014; 23 (6): 1080–1089. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0821